Samarina Republic ( ro, Republica de la Samarina) or Republic of the PindusΟι κουτσόβλαχοι και το ''Αυτόνομο κρατίδιο της Πίνδου'' (1917)
/ref> ( el, Δημοκρατία της Πίνδου; ro, Republica Pindului) is a

historiographic Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

name for the attempt and proposal to create an Aromanian canton under the protection of Italy during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A declaration of independence was issued on 29 August 1917 by some Aromanian figures at

Samarina Samarina ( el, Σαμαρίνα, rup, Samarina, Xamarina, San Marina) is a village and a former municipality in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Grevena, of whic ...

and other villages of the

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...

mountains of northern Greece during the short period of occupation by Italy of the area in July and August 1917. In the immediate withdrawal of Italians a few days later, Greek troops retook control of the region claimed by the canton without meeting any resistance.Evenimentele din lunile iulie-august 1917 în regiunea Munților Pind – încercare de creare a unei statalități a aromânilor. documente inedite și mărturii. studiu istoriografic și arhivistic
Stoica Lascu, Revista Română de Studii Eurasiatice, Anul III, No. 1-2/2007

Background

Since

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

in 1859, it tried to win influence over the Aromanian (and also the Megleno-Romanian) population of the Ottoman Empire. In the 1860s, it funded the activity of Apostolos Margaritis who founded Romanian schools in the Ottoman territories of Epirus and Macedonia since the Aromanian language has much in common with the Romanian language. Romania, with the support of Austria-Hungary, succeeded in the acceptance of the Aromanians as a separate

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

with the decree ( irade) of 22 May 1905 by Sultan Abdulhamid, so the

Ullah millet The Ullah Millet (or "Vlach Millet") was a separate Millet (Ottoman Empire), millet (that is, a recognized ethno-religious and linguistic community) within the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Ottoman authorities for the Aromanians (also ...

("Vlach millet", for the Aromanians) could have their own churches and schools. This was a diplomatic success of Romania in European Turkey in the last part of the 19th century. Romania then funded the construction and operation of many schools in the wider region of Macedonia and Epirus. These schools have continued their operation even when some of the territories of the region of Macedonia and Thrace passed to Greek authority in 1912. Their financing by Romania continued in 1913 with the agreement of the then Prime Minister

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...

.The Politics of Nation-Building: Making Co-Nationals, Refugees, and Minorities
Harris Mylonas, Cambridge University Press, 2013, σελ. 134 In such Romanian schools, there was a coordinated effort to promote the idea of Romanian identity among Aromanians. Graduates of these schools who wanted to continue their education usually went to educational institutions in Romania. Posteriorly, during the First World War, in 1916, Albania, including Northern Epirus, was split between the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

which occupied Gjirokastra and France which occupied

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

(, , or ), while in northern and central Albania were occupied by troops of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. On 10 December 1916, the French founded the

Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

. In response, Austria-Hungary went on proclamation of independence of Albania as a protectorate on 3 January 1917, in Shkodra, while on 23 June 1917, the Italians proclaimed the

Italian protectorate over Albania The Italian protectorate over Albania was established by the Kingdom of Italy during World War I in an effort to secure a ''de jure'' independent Albania under Italian control. It existed from 23 June 1917 until the summer of 1920. History ...

in Gjirokastra. Then the Italian forces advanced and they captured

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

( or ). In this environment of occupation and fragmentation of territories in Southern Albania and Northwestern Greece, Italian troops occupied

(, or ) and other villages of the Pindus for a few days at the end of August 1917 to the first two days of September 1917. Μανόλης Γλέζος

Manolis Glezos Manolis Glezos ( el, Μανώλης Γλέζος; 9 September 1922 – 30 March 2020) was a Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and folk hero, best known for his participation in the World War II resistance. In Greece, he is best r ...

, Εθνική αντίσταση, 1940–1945, τόμος 1, Στοχαστής, 2006, p. 260

History

In 1917, during the occupation of the territories of Albania and Northern Epirus, the Italians tried to win over the Aromanians to convert Aromanian-Romanian relations in favour of Italy, based on historical and linguistic relations and to change the pro-Romanian Aromanians into pro-Italian Aromanians. In the brief period of Italian occupation of southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, when Italian forces also entered Greek territory in 1917, Aromanians from several villages of the

mountain requested autonomy under the protection of Italy, turning to Romania for help. Letters were sent to several countries, from mayors and representatives of 13 villages." A proclamation was sent on 29 August 1917, from Samarina signed by seven representatives, who had the role of a temporary committee and requested assistance and protection from the Italian Consulate of Ioannina. One of the members of the provisionary committee,

Alcibiades Diamandi Alcibiades Diamandi (13 August 1893 – 9 July 1948, sometimes spelled ''Diamanti'' or ''Diamantis''; rup, Alcibiadi Diamandi; el, Αλκιβιάδης Διαμάντης) was an Aromanian political figure of Greece and Axis collaborator, act ...

, went to Ioannina to get an answer. There was an immediate response the next day from the Romanian and the Italian consulates: A clear answer that these actions were wrong and inappropriate, were not approved by anyone, and could not be supported by any party. One day later, the Italian army departed from Greek territory. From 3 to 7 September the Greek forces entered all the villages unopposed and, on 7 September, they arrested seven men in Samarina, giving an end to the events. These events are described in later bibliography as an attempt to form a "Principality of the Pindus", while in other sources, no name is assigned to the events of 1917.The ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the Identity of a Minority that Behaves like a Majority

Thede Kahl Thede Kahl (born 30 March 1971 in Hamburg) is a German ethnographer and ethnolinguist. He is the head of the Institute of South Slavic Studies in the University of Jena (in which he is a professor), in Germany. His research focuses are the Slav ...

, ''Ethnologia Balkanica'', Vol. 6 (2002), σελ. 148 Later, in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and 1920, an Aromanian delegation requested autonomy for the Aromanians.

Villages and people involved

A letter to the Prime Minister of Romania

Ion C. Brătianu Ion Constantin Brătianu (; June 2, 1821 – May 16, 1891) was one of the major political figures of 19th-century Romania. He was the son of Dincă Brătianu and the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vinti ...

, sent on 27 July 1917, was signed by mayors and notables of the following villages: Samarina,

Avdella Avdella ( el, Αβδέλλα; rup, Avdhela) is a village and a former municipality in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been a municipal unit of Grevena. It is a seasonal Aromanian vi ...

(), Perivoli (),

Vovousa Vovousa ( el, Βοβούσα or Βωβούσα; rup, Bãiasa, or ) is a village and a former community in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagori, of which it is ...

(, or ),

Metsovo Metsovo ( el, Μέτσοβο; rup, Aminciu) is a town in Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east. The largest centre of Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large re ...

(),

Konitsa Konitsa ( el, Κόνιτσα; see also names in other languages) is a town of Ioannina in Epirus, Greece. It is located north of the capital Ioannina and near the Albanian border. Northeast of Konitsa lies a group of villages known as the Zagoro ...

(),

Pades PAdES (''PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures'') is a set of restrictions and extensions to PDF and ISO 32000-1 making it suitable for advanced electronic signatures. This is published by ETSI as EN 319 142. Description While PDF and ISO 32000-1 ...

(),

Kranea Kranea ( el, Κρανέα) is a village and a former community in the Preveza regional unit, Epirus, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern ti ...

(),

Distrato Distrato ( el, Δίστρατο, rup, Briaza) is a village and a former community in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Konitsa Konitsa ( el, Κόνιτσα; see al ...

(), Laista (),

Iliochori Iliochori ( el, Ηλιοχώρι, "Village of the Sun", before 1927: Δοβρίνοβο - ''Dovrinovo''; rup, Dovrinovo) is one of the Zagori villages in northwest Greece. It is located in the municipal unit of Tymfi, Greece, Tymfi in the norther ...

(), Armata () and

Smixi Smixi ( el, Σμίξη, rup, Zmixi) is an Aromanian village and a former community in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Grevena, of which it is a municipal unit. ...

(). Furthermore, the assistance request to the Italian Consulate was signed by the seven members of the Provisional Committee: *Doctor Dimitrie Diamandi *Ianaculi Dabura *Mihali Teguiani *Tachi Nibi * Zicu Araia, declared as "minister of the schools in the 'Republic of the Pindus'" and as "minister of culture" of the republic *

*Sterie Caragiani The persons arrested by the Greek authorities in Samarina on 8 September 1917, were: * Zicu Araia, head teacher of the Romanian school of Samarina * Guli Papagheorghe, teacher of the Romanian school of Samarina * Ianache Dabura, former mayor of Samarina * Gherassim Zica, inhabitant of Samarina * Ianachi Zuchi, inhabitant of Samarina * Costachi Surbi, inhabitant of Samarina

Aftermath

In the autumn of 1918, a group of Aromanians from the Pindus declared the "Republic of the Pindus" in

, which lasted for one day. This group even resisted through military means the Greek military detachment that had originally gone to the village of Vovousa to take it over from the withdrawing Italians.Το θνησιγενές πριγκηπάτο της Πίνδου
/ref> A renewed attempt at the creation of an independent state in the Pindus would take place during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the

Principality of the Pindus The Principality of the Pindus ( rup, Printsipat di la Pind; el, Πριγκιπάτο της Πίνδου; it, Principato del Pindo; ro, Principatul de Pind) is the name used in literature to describe the attempt and proposal to create an auto ...

Background

History

Villages and people involved

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading